efficiently
Americanadverb
-
in the best possible manner with the least waste of time and effort; capably or competently.
Getting this many people to pass information among themselves efficiently, let alone come up with a coherent plan that everybody understands, requires practice.
-
in a satisfactory and economical way.
The product they are donating will give our volunteers the proper materials to build our homes as efficiently as possible.
-
in a way that utilizes a particular resource with the least waste (usually used in combination).
The lighter your car is, the more fuel-efficiently it will drive.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of efficiently
Explanation
If you do something efficiently, you do it productively and quickly. When your dentist efficiently examines your teeth, you are grateful because he does a good job and it's all over quickly. The adverb efficiently has origins in the Latin word efficere, meaning "work out, accomplish." Efficiently can describe any action that's done without wasting time, effort, or materials — and still manages to produce the desired outcome. Today people are using power, fuel, and water more efficiently to conserve natural resources. As a project manager, you efficiently manage your projects so they stay on schedule and under budget.
Vocabulary lists containing efficiently
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Amendment LA is intended to more efficiently deliver basic city services for infrastructure in need of repair, including streets in need of repaving, dangerous sidewalks and broken streetlights.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026
Dr. Rick Silva, executive director of clinical trials at the Texas A&M Health Institute of Biosciences and Technology, explained that the designation helps promising technologies move through regulatory review more efficiently.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026
Zuckerberg also raised the possibility last month that Muse could charge a small fee on transactions, and he suggested Wednesday that small businesses could adopt it to bring in customers and operate more efficiently.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
So AI users using the technology to work more efficiently become more valuable to them than the actual innovators, he said.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 22, 2026
The boat checked on the catches and bounced in the rough water rather than slicing efficiently through it.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
